Breakdown of De oorsprong van onze familie ligt bij een vrouw die lang geleden leefde.
een
a/an
de vrouw
the woman
de familie
the family
onze
our (de-words, plurals)
lang
long
bij
at / near / by
liggen
to lie
van
from (possession, starting point) / made of
leven
to live (to be alive)
die
who / that (relative pronoun)
geleden
ago
de oorsprong
the origin
Questions & Answers about De oorsprong van onze familie ligt bij een vrouw die lang geleden leefde.
How does the word geleden work in lang geleden?
The word geleden translates to 'ago'. In Dutch, it is a postposition, which means it always comes immediately after the duration of time it refers to. Just like you would say twee jaar geleden (two years ago), you say lang geleden for 'long ago'.
Why is the verb leefde at the very end of the sentence?
The word die introduces a relative clause (die lang geleden leefde). A relative clause is a type of subclause, and in Dutch subclauses, the verb is always pushed to the end.
Why do we use die for 'who' instead of wie?
When referring back to a noun that was just mentioned (here, een vrouw), you use a relative pronoun. For de-words like vrouw, that pronoun is always die. You generally only use wie as a relative pronoun when it comes right after a preposition (like met wie).
Just to be sure, why is it onze familie and not ons familie?
Because familie is a de-word (de familie). The possessive 'our' translates to onze for all de-words and plurals, and it is only ons for singular het-words.
Does ligt bij translate exactly to 'lies with' here?
Yes, the Dutch expression de oorsprong ligt bij closely mirrors the English 'the origin lies with'. The preposition bij is used here to point to the specific person or group where something is located or started.
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